Voting and elections written by Associate Professor Rodney Smith and Dr. Anika Gauja (2013), from the Hot Topics series published by the Legal Information Access Centre, State Library of NSW. A condensed version is available online

After the election : what happens? prepared by Leo Hardiman, Damian Page, Leah Edwards (2013). General information and background from the Australian Government Solicitor

Case Study

A question from overseas: I have heard about an Australian law that forces people to vote or they get a fine. Can you supply more details?

Voting at federal elections is compulsory for all citizens on the Australian Federal electoral roll. The introduction of compulsory voting varied from state to state; you can read about the background and history on the Australian Electoral Commission website.

Anyone who is unable to provide a valid and sufficient reason to the Divisional Returning Officer for failure to vote at a federal election, and who does not wish to have the matter dealt with by a Magistrates Court may pay a penalty of $20.

If the person refuses to pay the $20 then the matter may be referred to a Magistrates Court, where a fine of $50 plus costs may be ordered on conviction.

On average about 5 per cent of enrolled voters fail to vote. In recent federal elections, with a voter turnout of approximately 95 per cent, informal voting (blank or not properly completed ballots) has accounted for about 5 per cent of all the votes cast (from Our electoral system at DFAT).

Fast fact

Australian ballot, also called secret ballot, is the system of voting in which voters mark their choices in privacy on uniform ballots printed and distributed by the government or designate their choices by some other secret means. Victoria and South Australia were the first states to introduce secrecy of the ballot (1856), and for that reason the secret ballot is referred to as the Australian ballot. The system spread to Europe and the United States to meet the growing public and parliamentary demand for protection of voters.

National Tally Room as seen from the second floor of the tally board during the Australian Federal Elections, Canberra, 24 November 2007 [picture] / Mark Arundel

Referendums

A referendum is a vote of the Australian people on measures proposed or passed by the Australian Parliament. A number of different types of referendums can be held, the most common is a Constitutional referendum. More information, including a list of all referendums and results, is available at the Australian Electoral Commission.

The poll for a national song, held on 21 May 1977 was not a proposal to amend the Constitution, and voting was not compulsory. Details at the AEC